Competencies of Strategic Account Managers

Answering this question was the primary objective of our research. When it came to SAM competencies, the results were fascinating. For both Top Performers and The Rest, the competencies most commonly played well were, in rank order:

#1: Results Driver #2 Project Manager #3: Relationship Lead

#4: Collaborator #5: Technical #6: Innovator

What’s more interesting, however, is to look at the roles with the greatest competency gaps between Top Performers and The Rest. Note that the ranking is completely flipped upside down compared to those most commonly played across all organizations.

Think of it like this: you need Technical Experts, Relationship Leads, and Collaborators to get a seat at the table, and get opportunities to drive conversations and sales. Without these roles played well, you’ll be disqualified from competing. These are the price of entry.

If you want to drive the greatest account growth, make sure Project Managers, Innovators, and Results Drivers are played well. When you do, you’ll create compelling strategic account plans, and use the plans as guides to execute and drive results with hustle, passion, intensity… and accountability: